Julian Keller
"Okay, see... I can't understand a '''thing' you just said. But I got two words for you -- bath and soap."'' Character Stat Sheet Public Information Julian Keller is a senior at Massachusetts Academy, the second son of financial genius and Secretary of the Treasury William Keller and his wife Elizabeth of Keller Financial. His family have long been members of the Hellfire Club, and Julian himself is no stranger to showing up in any number of tabloids for his penchant for partying, dating models and actresses, and otherwise being your typical spoiled rich teenage boy with extraordinary good looks. Hellion is the student leader of the nominally heroic team known as the Hellions. Background Some years prior to Julian's birth, William and Elizabeth Keller made a deal with the mysterious "Kingmaker" to further their own fortunes. While the terms of the deal are not entirely known, they apparently fulfilled their end of things so far, as the Kingmaker did indeed help them gain fantastic wealth and power. This is of course not public knowledge, and it's entirely likely that whatever they had to do in return for their good fortune was at the very least morally murky and quite possibly outright illegal and/or evil. Julian was born to William and Elizabeth after they had already made most of their fortune. He grew up in Beverly Hills, California. He was a bright child, and at least initially doted upon by his parents, but he was also headstrong and stubborn, foreshadowing future headaches to come. Julian was educated by the finest tutors at some of the most exclusive private academies in the country. He performed well in his academic pursuits, as what he lacked in extraordinary genius he made up for with ambition and persistence, at least when he was focused. In some ways the strong competitive streak that grew in him furthered this determination to excel. Unfortunately, Julian was a bit like a baseball player that has the most home runs but also the most strikeouts. His grades were excellent, and he excelled in his extracurricular activities as well, but his behavior left something to be desired. He constantly challenged teachers and fellow students, and frequently found himself on the verge of expulsion from various schools for pranks or outright insubordination, though the family's wealth and prestige usually prevented things from getting quite that extreme. Still, he did have to switch schools a few times, though at least the good grades transferred! At one point, a particularly harried teacher snapped at Julian and called him "You little Hellion!" Julian thought it sounds pretty cool. Especially once he looked up the definition. It's a term that would be applied to him many more times in the years to come. As Julian entered high school age/the teenage years, he naturally ascended to the top of the social heap. Rich, popular, handsome, successfully athletic...he pretty much had it all. He developed a penchant for partying, and was introduced to sex, drugs, and alcohol fairly early on, though at least where the latter two were concerned he generally managed to keep it moderate, and in the former's case was smart enough to be quite "careful" in his dalliances. He became rather notorious in the high society social scene and made the gossip columns of several national-level scandal rags from time to time, but usually just in the sense of being "attached" to one teenaged starlet or another. Just a bit shy of his 14th birthday, Julian's mutant powers manifested during an argument with his parents. While shocked, his parents did not reject him. Continuing what seemed to be a charmed life, Julian had few issues with controlling his power, perhaps because he actively experimented with them...something his parents were not entirely keen on. At first, Julian went along with his parents' wishes and kept his powers a secret. At first, Julian continued his hedonistic lifestyle unabated, but after a few incidents where Julian used his power to rough up folks that were harassing him and his friends, and a couple more incidents where Julian intervened in life-threatening situations to protect other people (situations which the Kellers had to work hard to keep out of the media), his parents strictly curtailed his social activities. Ferocious arguments ensued. Julian never thought he should have to hide himself, but his parents were worried about the family reputation if news got out they had a mutant in the family tree. Julian had also become enamored of the idea of becoming a "super-hero." As it turned out, he'd soon get his wish, albeit not in the manner he expected. At a Hellfire Club fundraiser, Julian and his parents were approached by Miss Emma Frost. The notorious owner and CEO of Frost Industries revealed that she was aware of Julian's "gifts" and suggested to his parents that he should attend her intensely exclusive private school, the Massachusetts Academy. Strangly, Julian's parents didn't ask too many questions, and before he knew it, Julian was shipped across the country to Salem, New York, where he soon took up residence at said Academy, beginning his Sophomore Year. One might expect that Julian would have received quite the wake-up call when surrounded by a bunch of other teenagers with egos and powers on par with himself, but where many would likely have buckled, Julian thrived. With his natural charisma and knack for dealing with people, Julian made fast friends with several of his classmates and despite plenty of competition emerged as the "Class Leader" for Miss Frost's "Gifted Students Program" when the class of 2013 graduated. Of course, he also continued a good bit of his free-wheeling lifestyle, both with his classmates and with the folks on the social scene in New York City. What this meant is that Julian was now the "field leader" of the group of young mutants known as the Hellions. Given his insistence on keeping the "Hellion" code name, this did in fact make them "Hellion and the Hellions." The Hellions were largely a secretive group, and while nominally heroic, most of their efforts were directed at mostly-harmless pranks and rivalry with the students of the Xavier Institute across town. Still, for all their rivalry, there has been more than one occasion where the Hellions and their Generation X counterparts were forced to set aside their differences and work together to defeat a threat...however fragile their alliance may be. On these occasions, Julian proved (amazingly) one of the more level-headed voices (at least from his own team) in fostering cooperation, though he did bristle when his leadership was challenged. Now entering his Senior year at the Massachusetts Academy, Julian has had to start giving some degree of thought as to just what he's going to do when graduation rolls around. As of now, though...he really doesn't have a clue, and he's got a whole year's worth of school before he -really- needs to decide, right? May as well enjoy it while it lasts.... Personality Julian Keller is hot-headed, loud-mouthed, stubborn, arrogant, a showoff, has problems with authority, and can generally be a big-time jerk and troublemaker. He's also unfailingly loyal, genuinely charismatic, surprisingly generous, admirably courageous, and has a marked tendency to do the right thing in situations where it really matters. In short, he's a pampered teenager that still hasn't fully grown up, and still isn't sure just what he's going to be when he does, but shows signs that whatever it is might be pretty significant in the long run. Let's be clear, Julian has a chip on his shoulder and it's not precisely clear where it comes from (though a degree of parental neglect seems likely). Even before his mutant powers manifested his parents threatened to disown him on a semi-regular basis. So far they haven't carried out their threat, though, apparently holding out hope that he'll come around and be a good boy like his older brother. As if! No, Julian wants more out of life than corporate boardrooms and business skullduggery. He wants to be more than the "spoiled rich kid" stereotype but doesn't quite know how yet. Finding out he was a mutant was the greatest thing that ever happened to him, to his mind. Finding out he's a powerful mutant was even better. It opened the door to the "bigger and better" that Julian has always dreamed of. Despite wanting to avoid the stereotype, Julian does all-too-often live up to it. He can be a bit of a bully and can be incredibly cliquish in his mentality. He can often be quick with cutting remarks and occasionally veers into straight-up insensitivity and thoughtlessness (though overall not -too- much worse than the average teenage boy). However, those that give as good as they get rather quickly and easily earn Julian's respect if not his friendship. He's not naturally "mean" but he is extremely competitive, and is instinctively wary of anyone that might outshine him. He's also more than capable of telling little white lies to get what he wants (or get out of trouble). Ironically his parents believe he lacks ambition, but nothing could be further from the truth. He wants to be the best at everything he sets his mind to, it's just that he tends to set his mind on avenues that his parents don't consider acceptable. He's very much a "go getter" and sticks to his guns, sometimes even to his detriment. He's good at seeing things through once he's started them, for better or for ill. While Julian can be obnoxious about his self-perceived superiority at times, he can also be genuinely charming, and those that DO earn his friendship could rarely find a more loyal and generous comrade. There is virtually nothing that Julian won't do for his friends, up to and including risking his own life for their protection (as well as looking out for them in other ways). He readily shares his bounty with those he cares about, and surprisingly outward appearances often mean little to him...he can readily befriend inhuman-looking people without a second thought...though of course he does have a weakness for "hot" girls. Either way, he very much has the proverbial "heart of gold" under his sometimes-obnoxious manner. He might even put a hold on being such a "playa" if the right girl came along. One that can keep up with him, and find the balance between feeding his ego and standing up to it. If anything, Julian's time at the Massachusetts Academy has tempered him somewhat. Having to wrangle a triple-handful of egos just as big as his own may in fact have given him a little perspective on himself....emphasis on "a little." He's still arrogant and brash, but he does actually manage to think things through when it comes to his friends and teammates. He's got a real knack for dealing with individuals and much to everyone's surprise has managed to make the extremely dysfunctional Hellions...reasonably functional, and at least tilting towards the "heroic" side of the moral compass...if only barely. Logs * 2014-03-12 - Study Guide - It's time to study for a couple of the Hellions. * 2014-05-09 - Too Pool for School - Double-Q and Hellion try for some good clean pranking fun. Too bad X-23 catches them. * 2014-07-25 - A New Year for Hellions - The boys of suite 27 arrive to school early. Typical conversations ensue. * 2014-08-15 - Opening Shots: Start a Damned Riot In Here - A Nation-X concert on the first Friday night of the school year goes pear-shaped. Category:Marvel Features Category:Taken Characters Category:Regular Characters Category:Extraordinary Appearance Category:Hellions Category:Massachusetts Academy Category:Hellfire Club Category:Telekinesis Category:Flight